


The Night

by princeunderthemountain



Series: Return To The Earth [2]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ficlet, Fluff, Interquel, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-16
Updated: 2014-01-16
Packaged: 2018-01-08 21:39:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1137674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princeunderthemountain/pseuds/princeunderthemountain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After travelling for so long, Ben just wants a break. Stopping in an Alpine valley, Ben looses himself in the sky and in his thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Night

**Author's Note:**

> Gosh, it's been a while.
> 
> I really just wanted to write this because it has been so long since I've posted anything. Mind you, I say posted, because I have many, MANY fics i've been working on. 
> 
> The first, most important one is a sequel to The Wild. At the moment, the title is The Sticks, and it's so long. Like oh my god, it's so long. Also, contrasting it to my writing in The Wild, my style has markably improved. I'm really excited to get that out to all of you very soon.
> 
> The second most-important is a middle earth-set story, and is a one-off (???) in which Thorin settles down in The Shire after some very bad things happen in Erebeor. The angst. Oh god, there will be angst. (there was also an incident where I tweeted Graham McTavish to settle a question about hobbit architecture, but that's another story)
> 
> This is sort of a prequel for the Sequel (an in-betwee-quel?). It gives a bit of set up for what's gonna happen in the next story, in terms of exactly where everyone's gonna end up and how they're feeling after the events of The Wild.
> 
> Read. Enjoy. More is coming soon.

"I've never seen the sky like this before.”

 

The dark canvas stretched out before Tane and Ben. Pricked with lights clustered in to constellations and galaxies. The pale band of the Milky Way stretched out across it all, swirling with cosmic dust.

 

 "It's beautiful." Ben whispered.

 

 "But not as beautiful as you." Tane replied, nuzzling his mouth in to Ben's neck, which made Ben giggle.

 

It was late, about three in the morning by the position of Orion. They had planned on driving through the night, but the scenery called out to them. The Alps reared up on the horizon, snow capped and glistening even in the dim light of the crescent moon. The green wooded valley spread out below them, with only the single stretch of highway cutting through it. 

 

_It seemed such a shame to disturb the nature,_ Ben thought, but he was thankful for it. He had learned, since Knowing, that nature was an organism in it's own right. A living, breathing thing that spoke as one. Everyone was a part of it, and that was one of the reasons running away had been such an appetising idea.

 

Ben and Tane had been travelling for three weeks on their own, and two more with Kent, Farris, and Dianne, whom they had met up with in Munich. They had barely made a dent in their "city" supplies, which really only marked itself as "city" due to being packaged. The caravan filled with them was hitched to Kent’s big range rover, parked a few meters away from Tane’s own grey car, which he and Ben now lay on the bonnet of, looking out over nature.

 

That was how they all thought now. City - the populous, vibrant world of colours, but also of social entrapment and spiritual death. Nature - the quieter, more subdued world with it's own dangers, but peace and happiness if pursued correctly. These two facets of their existence were equal. Neither was correct or wrong. Both ways had their ups and downs, but only one could be chosen. In the end, to Ben, it had been the decision of where he thought he could really be safe.

 

Or at least, that was what the rational deal breaker was. He hoped he was doing what was rational, but how could anything be rational in this world? A world of fire-breathing psychopaths and gods dressed in grey. Maybe, really, the only thing he could decide for was what made him happy.

 

 "Uncle? Mum wants to get back on the road." Kent called out. The three of them had been in their own car, crowded around the heater. Ben knew as soon as he met them that they were just ordinary people, not gods or spirits, but good enough. Everyone was good if they were willing to help the helpless, Ben had learnt from them. Good people were a rare treasure these days.

 

 "Just...five more minutes." Tane called out. It made Ben a bit anxious, making such a loud noise. In the middle of a forest, where any manner of creatures who could kill them might live. His nerves relaxed when he remembered the short sword Tane carried on him, and the archery set Kent had in his car. Kent had done archery since he was a child, but Tane had insisted on the sword. He had said it made him feel more grounded to Thorin, the spirit within him.

 

Also, the knives, Ben remembered. Those two knives strapped to the holster around his waist. He still didn't know much about them, how they came to him or how he could read the Khuzdul - as he could remember it was called now - inscribed on them. In his memory, Ben couldn't remember Bilbo having ever learned the language of the dwarves. Ironically, Tane could now read it perfectly - he could also conjugate it ten different ways and reproduce the words to suit the seven different genders that existed in dwarrow culture.

 

Ben was brought back to the current moment when he felt a familiar comforting grasp around his hand. Tane. His thumb massaged along Tanes fingers, feeling the rough pads where callouses had formed, and also the places where the skin had remained wonderfully soft.

 

 “It had been five minutes. We must leave.” Tane whispered.

 

 "I want to stay here. Just for the night." Ben replied, rolling over and curling Tanes arm around him in to a half-hug.

 

 “We can’t. We need to keep going.” Tane whispered, taking a hold of Ben’s hands and hauling him up. Ben stumbled around and in to the passenger seat. His eyes remained close, trying to keep that image of the perfect sky above. Imprinting it in to his memory.

 

Tane began to sing. That ancient song that had belonged to Thorin, about trees and fire.

 

_Far over the misty mountains cold_

 

_to dungeons deep and caverns old_

 

_We must away ere break of day_

 

_to find our long forgotten gold_

 

Ben hummed what would have been the instrumental part, and their voices together carried him off to sleep, where he dreamt of whatever place would bring them all safety and happiness.

 

Ben had one last thought before falling in to the void of sleep

 

_The adventure has only just begun._

 


End file.
